Somewhere during his vows, I’d lost it, and had I not been the center of attention, I would have been a blubbering mess. Of course I cried—what woman wouldn’t? But I also smiled and felt immense comfort and satisfaction with his words. Who knew Quinton Cane could be so romantic?
The ceremony was beautiful, really. My vows couldn’t top his by a long shot. Everything he said, I’d pretty much thought, only he said it better.
Before I knew it, the minister was saying, “You may now kiss your bride, Mr. Cane,” and Cane wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me. You better believe I gave this kiss my all. Out of all the kisses we shared, all the moments when we touched and loved, this one felt most important. Didn’t matter that my parents were in the crowd watching. I loved this man with all my heart, and every single person watching was going to know it.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife! Friends, please join me in congratulating Mr. and Mrs Cane!” the minister cheered, and we kissed even harder then, taking a break to laugh before going in for one more taste.
Cane and I had gone through so much— experienced so many ups and down and broken moments. At one point, I thought we would never be, yet there we were. Right where we belonged. I was in his arms, and he was holding me like his life depended on it, kissing me so passionately, so achingly deep, I could feel it in my core.
While we kissed, everyone clapped for us. I heard Frankie whooping and hollering, and there were even a few whistles going around. When our kiss broke, I looked at my parents and was glad to see they were both smiling. Everyone here was happy for us, even the people I didn’t know, and that meant a lot to me.
Epilogue
KANDY
I think the reception was my favorite part. There was live music and so much food and cake. Yes, cake. After spending the last three months not eating any sugar so I could fit in my dress, I devoured it, and it felt so damn good.
I shared dances with Cane. I shared dances with my dad. I even shared dances with my little prince, Chance. I met several of Cane’s most trusted colleagues, and most of them were pretty cool guys. The music was loud and pulsed through me, and I didn’t care that I’d sweat my hair out, or that my elegant bun was toppling down. I was having fun and celebrating my marriage to a man I loved wholly and dearly. A man who I’d suffered losses with, as well as many wins.
It wasn’t too long before I decided to go back for my second slice of cake, but as the server handed it to me, Lora appeared over my shoulder. “Hey, Kandy. There’s a guy at the front door who says he needs to speak with you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What? Who?”
“I don’t know, but he’s cute. He said his name’s Brody. Should I let him in?”
“What the hell?” I placed my plate down and then looked across the room at Cane. He was standing by the champagne table, talking to a few of his colleagues. “Uh, no…I’ll go out. Keep Cane occupied, ‘kay?”
“Sure, yeah.”
I grabbed a handful of my dress and hurried to the steps that led up to the pool. My heels clicked on the marble as I walked through the house, and as soon as I opened the door, sure enough, Brody Hawks was there. When he spotted me, a smile stretched across his lips, but I could tell it was hard for him to do.
He looked…different. For starters, he had a beard now. Scruffy and dark. His eyes looked empty too, like he hardly ever slept. I couldn’t fight the frown that swept over my face as I looked him over, stepping out and shutting the door behind me.
“Wow,” he breathed. “You look amazing.”
“Brody?” I took a step closer. “What are you doing here?”
“I um…well, it’s going to sound crazy trying to explain it,” he said with an awkward chuckle.
My brows rose out of curiosity, but I folded my arms, waiting for him to finish.
“Look, Kandy…I’ll be completely honest with you. I don’t want to waste your time, but this felt like the only time I’d be able to say it.” He sighed. “I came to apologize about what happened at Notre Dame. Back then, you wouldn’t have known it, but I was on some really heavy stuff. I tried to keep up my good boy appearances, but when I partied with the team, I did a lot of drinking and experimented with a lot of drugs that messed with my head and my morals. I know this won’t change the way you feel about me, but after what happened, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Clearly, you couldn’t either, because I got served and kicked out.” His laugh was dry.